EPA Announces Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Funds for Cleanup at Tutu Wellfields in St. Thomas, USVI
NEW YORK - Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that the Tutu Wellfield in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands is among the over 100 sites across the country getting more than $1 billion for cleanup projects as part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda. This funding is made possible by the President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and will launch new cleanup projects at 25 Superfund sites and continue other cleanups at over 85 Superfund sites.
Thousands of contaminated sites exist nationally due to hazardous waste being dumped, left out in the open, or otherwise improperly managed. These sites can include toxic chemicals from manufacturing facilities, processing plants, landfills and mining, and can harm the health and well-being of local communities in urban and rural areas. More than one in four Black and Hispanic Americans live within three miles of a Superfund site.
"While we have addressed much of the risk posed by Tutu Wellfields, this funding will help us complete the job by addressing more recently discovered contamination that is spreading slowly over time,” said Regional Administrator Lisa F. Garcia. “This investment in America and in the U.S. Virgin Islands builds on the historic progress we have already made in recent years to ensure that communities living near the most serious uncontrolled, or abandoned contaminated sites get the protections they deserve.”
"Today marks a historic moment for the U.S. Virgin Islands as we celebrate the inclusion of the Tutu Wellfield in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law championed by President Biden. This legislation is a beacon of hope, promising to breathe new life into our environmental restoration efforts. With this law, USEPA is poised to launch critical cleanup projects at 25 Superfund sites, including the Tutu Wellfield, and continue ongoing efforts at over 85 Superfund sites. Our commitment to safeguarding our land, water, and air is unwavering, and this funding will empower us to address contamination, restore ecosystems, and protect public health,” said U.S. Virgin Islands Governor Bryan. “I extend my deepest gratitude to President Biden and his administration, and all those who worked tirelessly to make this legislation a reality. Let us move forward with purpose, knowing that our actions today shape the legacy we leave behind. The U.S. Virgin Islands is ready to lead the way toward a cleaner, greener, and more sustainable future."
“President Biden’s vision of making major investments to build resilience against climate change continues to come to fruition here in our territory with another award from the Inflation Reduction Act. The Tutu Wellfield in St. Thomas has long posed significant environmental hazards due to its industrial contamination, and I commend the EPA for identifying it for action,” said Representative Stacey Plaskett. “We know that there are other sites like this one across our territory and it is my hope that this will be one of many EPA funding awards for much needed environmental remediation in the Virgin Islands.”
The Tutu Wellfield site is located in the Anna’s Retreat section of St. Thomas, United States Virgin Islands. The site was used for textile manufacturing and industrial-scale dry cleaning from 1969-1978. Industrial waste, including spent dry-cleaning waste, drums, and floor drain discharge were released from the site and contaminated groundwater with chlorinated volatile organic compounds (CVOCs), including Trichloroethylene (TCE), Tetrachloroethylene (PCE) and vinyl chloride. EPA constructed a groundwater treatment facility in 2004 to address contaminated groundwater. In 2018, EPA determined that this system needed to be expanded and enhanced.
EPA BIL funding will be used to expand the existing groundwater pump and treat system to include additional wells and upgrade all existing treatment equipment to accommodate additional flow rates and address the source of contamination more efficiently. The work to expand and enhance the system is estimated to cost about $14 million.
Today’s investment is the final wave of funding from the $3.5 billion allocated for Superfund cleanup work in the President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. So far, EPA has deployed more than $2 billion for cleanup activities at more than 150 Superfund National Priorities List sites. Thanks President Biden’s commitment to addressing legacy pollution and improving public health, EPA has been able to provide as much funding for cleanup work in the past two years as it did in the previous five years while delivering on President Biden’s Justice40 Initiative, which set a goal to deliver 40% of the overall benefits of certain federal investments to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution.
EPA is committed to advancing environmental justice and incorporating equity considerations into all aspects of the Superfund cleanup process. Thus far, nearly 80% of the funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law has gone to sites in communities with potential environmental justice concerns. Out of the 25 sites to receive funding for new cleanup projects, more than 75% are in communities with potential environmental justice concerns based on data from EJSCREEN.
President Biden’s Investing in America agenda is restoring the health and economic vitality of communities that have been exposed to pervasive legacy pollution. The historic investment made by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law strengthens every part of the Superfund program, making a dramatic difference in EPA’s ability to tackle threats to human health and the environment. In addition to funding cleanup construction work, the investment is enabling EPA to increase funding for and accelerate essential work needed to prepare sites for construction and to ensure communities are meaningfully involved in the cleanup process. In 2023, EPA continued to fund Superfund pre-construction activities such as remedial investigations, feasibility studies, remedial designs, and community involvement at double pre-Bipartisan Infrastructure Law levels.
In 1980, Congress passed the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERLCA), known as Superfund. The law gave EPA the authority and funds to hold polluters accountable for cleaning up the most contaminated sites across the country. When no viable responsible party is found or cannot afford the cleanup, EPA steps in to address risks to human health and the environment using funds appropriated by Congress, like the funding provided by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
To see a list of the 25 sites to receive funding for new cleanup projects, visit EPA’s Superfund webpage.
To see highlights from the first two years of Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding at Superfund sites, visit EPA’s Cleaning Up Superfund Sites: Highlights of Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Funding website.
For more information about EPA’s Superfund program, visit EPA’s Superfund website.
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